


From Pinecones to Pasta

by posabule



Category: We Bare Bears (TV)
Genre: Anniversary, Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, i kind of just threw this together in a day KSDLJFDSKLDFD, it is sweet and fluffy charlie just wants to make panda happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-07-23 13:07:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20008774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/posabule/pseuds/posabule
Summary: To celebrate their one year anniversary of dating, Charlie wants to recreate their first date.





	From Pinecones to Pasta

**Author's Note:**

> I made this to celebrate the four year anniversary of We Bare Bears!!!! Cheers.

The first time Charlie had asked Panda on a date, they had a picnic on the beach of Charlie’s private lake. Alone. He had realized all too late that he was hopelessly underequipped to give Panda the type of feast he would typically enjoy, but he tried his best. He packed the best snacks he could forage and conjure up: berries, pinecones drizzled in honey, stale hotdog buns he stole from a stranger’s cookout, and some beetles he had seasoned and lightly roasted over a fire.

It’s better than what he usually eats, which is usually some leaves or unidentifiable slop from the garbage. He hoped Panda would find it acceptable. And he did, to his delight. Panda had tasted it all, even eating one of the bugs. He didn’t eat any bugs after that, but that just meant more for Charlie. They were his favorite, anyway.

For their one year anniversary of dating, he wants to recreate their first date. Well, not exactly replicate it. He wants to recreate it but better. Better foods, fancier drinks, more cuddles.

They were, of course, nervous on their first date. This made any touching hesitant and light, despite Charlie’s previous heavy coddling of the bear. Something about them actually being in a romantic setting, of him actually having a chance with Panda, made him shyer about hugging or kissing him. Things felt delicate. He was shocked Panda had even accepted the initial date. For a couple weeks before he asked, Panda’s attitude towards him had really softened. Panda became more receptive to his touches, seemed to genuinely enjoy talking to him, and started to even seek him out. These actions had given him the confidence to take the dive and ask Panda on a date. Panda seemed surprised and spent a good minute sputtering, which Charlie took as a good sign and thought was rather endearing. Eventually Panda had accepted and stuck around long enough to make plans with Charlie, but he quickly excused himself and ran off.

This year, he lays out his red plaid blanket on the beach, right next to the tree line. In the trees, he strings up warm fairy lights. He scatters lanterns around and on the blanket to give them more warm, romantic light for when it gets dark. He’s just now finishing up cooking he and Panda’s dinner. Well, it’s mostly Ice Bear cooking with him just occasionally helping to chop something up or sprinkle seasoning. He’s doing enough to feel like he’s helping.

Grizz is out helping keep Panda away and occupied so none of Charlie’s surprise is spoiled. He knows Charlie is preparing some sort of anniversary surprise, and that it requires cooking, but otherwise is unaware of what Charlie is doing.

“Meal will be done soon,” Ice Bear announces. “Text them.”

“Oh, okay!” Charlie replies, pulling out his phone to tell them they can start to head back now. Panda gifted him a phone a few months into them dating. It was important for Panda to be able to communicate with him quickly and easily. Also, Panda clearly appreciates being able to send someone every selfie he takes and receive endless compliments and flirty emotes in response. Charlie’s stomach never fails to flutter at every selfie he receives. Panda’s so cute and does the goofiest poses. They’re usually him trying to look sexy and cool, because those are the ones he feels best posting online, but Charlie’s favorites are the ones where he is trying to accentuate his cuteness as much as possible.

Charlie has taken a huge liking to his phone, too. He still refuses to take pictures of himself, but he loves to send Panda pictures of all the neat things he finds. And he finds a lot of neat things. Animals, bugs, cool branches, pretty leaves. He could send Panda pictures of those all day.

_Pumpkin!!!! ♥♥♥ You can head back now I’m ready for you!!_

Charlie peppers his text with as many cutesy emojis as his fingers can manage. Panda’s response comes almost immediately.

_okay, honey. we’ll head back :3 ♥_

_I miss you!!! ♥♥ Been working hard all day just for u :D ♥♥♥_

_show me!_

_No! It all has to be a surprise!!!! Patience my darling ♥♥ :)_ _♥♥_

 _fine! >:( _ _i’ll be there in ten. i love you. can’t wait to see you ♥_

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ _I love you too sweetie!!!!_ ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

He’s smiling so hard at his phone that it hurts. He can’t wait to spend the evening and night with his boyfriend. It will be a night of eating, swimming, cuddling, smooching, and singing. Hopefully he can make it as magical and picture perfect as possible for Panda. He knows Panda has grand romantic fantasies, and it can get intimidating. Charlie ends up going to Panda’s brothers for _a lot_ of advice. Thankfully, they’re always happy to help.

When the food is done, they package it up and neatly organize the picnic basket. It looks absolutely charming. Soon enough, the front door opens, and chattering fills the cave as Panda and Grizz enter. When Panda sees Charlie, he runs into his open arms. Charlie picks him up and they share a warm embrace. Before he puts him down, they share a quick peck. They don’t kiss too deeply in front of others. They do enough PDA as it is, anyways.

“Hey there, Pan Pan! Hey Grizz!” Charlie greets them, giving Grizz a wave.

“Hey bro! Ugh, that smells good. You’re so lucky, Pan Pan,” Grizz says. 

Charlie is still filled with an all-consuming warmth every time Grizz or Ice Bear refer to him as their brother. He may not be married or even engaged to Panda yet, but after just a few months of dating, Panda’s brothers had started to refer to him as their own brother. And he really does feel like part of their family. The bears are so warm and accepting.

Panda blushes at what his brother says and turns to Charlie.

“No time to talk, let’s go! Show me everything!” Panda whines, tugging on his arm. “I’m dying to see what you’ve done. Please.”

Charlie chuckles and grabs Panda’s paw.

“Alright, alright. We gotta hurry before the food gets cold, anyway. You sure you’re ready to head out?” Charlie asks.

“Yes! Let’s go!” Panda says, trying to drag Charlie towards the door. Charlie grabs the basket and thanks his brothers for their help before they head out.

“Alright, I need you to close your eyes, sweetheart,” Charlie says, looking down at his boyfriend.

“Aw, you’re still going to keep the surprise from me?” Panda moans. Charlie giggles. He loves Panda’s playful whining. His oft-overdramatic attitude is charming.

“Yep!” Charlie exclaims. “I promise it’ll be worth it. We’ll be there in just a few minutes!”

As they hold hands, Charlie guides him through the woods, towards the picnic area he set up at his lake. Panda keeps swinging their hands back and forth, likely as a form of impatient twiddling.

Panda probably can guess where they are going considering there are not many places in the woods he could be taking him, but that’s okay. It should still be a surprise how lovely and different the setup is. It’s amazing how much some pretty lighting can change an area.

As they get closer, the sound of the water lapping gets louder. There’s no way Panda can’t tell where they’re going now. He doesn’t let on that he knows, though.

“Alright,” Charlie says as they get to the blanket. He grabs both of Panda’s paws. “You can open your eyes now.”

Panda is grinning as he opens his eyes. His mouth forms into an ‘o’ shape as he looks around, amazement filling his eyes. Charlie proudly takes in his reaction.

The sky is just beginning to turn shades of orange and yellow, the sun starting to slip below the trees. The lights he set up are already helping create a warm glow. He and Panda share a sweet, toothy grin.

“Charlie, this is so beautiful,” he remarks. He stands on his tiptoes and stretches up to give Charlie a kiss. They spend a minute sharing passionate kisses before Charlie makes them stop. He’s eager to show Panda the food setup, and they need to eat it while it’s warm.

“Okay, angel. Okay,” he says after Panda steals another kiss. “Let’s eat and then we can do whatever you want.”

“I’m starving! I can’t believe you cooked me a meal. I didn’t think you’d last through this lesson after you set fire to the oven last time we baked,” Panda teases.

“Hey! It was only a small fire. You live and you learn!” Charlie defends himself. He moves to pull out and set up their dishes. It’s just a simple meal of pasta with bread on the side and white wine to wash it all down, but he plans on making the presentation fancy. He wants it to be “instagrammable” enough for Panda. He knows that’s something Panda would greatly appreciate.

He plates the pasta - pappardelle noodles and mushrooms with a light white wine sauce and cheeses - and garnishes it with shaved parmesan and parsley. He places the bread on a cloth napkin laid over a small wicker bread basket. He pours them both a healthy glass of white wine into crystalline wine glasses. Panda quietly watches in amazement as Charlie hums and arranges their meal.

He squints at his work, assessing his satisfaction with the set up. He straightens out the silverware, puts one lantern on a corner of the blanket and one in the middle, and then pulls away with a clap.

“There!” Charlie exclaims. He holds his arms out at the blanket. “What do you think, Pan Pan?”

“I can’t believe you did this!” Panda says, whipping out his phone. Just as he hoped. That gives Charlie more validation than Panda’s words and expression. He snaps several pictures from several angles as he peppers Charlie with compliments. He even gets in a few selfies of he and Charlie, the fairy lights gently glowing in the background.

Charlie doesn’t like to take pictures of himself, but he doesn’t mind when Panda takes pictures of him, usually. Especially when they’re selfies of the two of them. Panda is the only one he feels comfortable enough to let take pictures of him. He trusts Panda to never post them online or let them get in the wrong hands. Besides, he loves going through the pictures of the two of them.

Once Panda is satisfied with the amount of pictures he has taken, they lounge on the blanket and contentedly begin to chow down. The food really is delicious. It’s no surprise, considering Ice Bear is largely who did the cooking. He’s glad he could bring Panda a romantic, satisfying meal and claim he took some part in it.

“How was the cooking lesson with little bro? I know he can be kind of impatient,” Panda asks through a mouthful of food.

Charlie taps his fork against his lips, taking a moment to think back. It went incredibly smoothly, but Ice Bear didn’t really leave any room for Charlie to do something to annoy him. Ice Bear took charge and most of Charlie’s work was observation. He asked a lot of questions, but Ice Bear seemed content to share his knowledge.

“Oh, it was smooth as can be. I basically didn’t need any help,” Charlie smoothly states, closing his eyes and taking a sip of wine.

“Uh huh,” Panda says, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Yeah, I was like a noodle making prodigy. Totally knocked the socks off him. He was impressed,” Charlie says with a sly grin.

“Oh yeah, ohh,” Panda plays along, a playful smile on his face. “Are you the one who perfectly shaped and proved this bread? Those are such difficult tasks that take hours of practice! A talented man after my heart,” he fake-swoons.

“I know, Pan Pan. I’m a natural. Don’t feel intimidated by how massively impressive I am. A gentleman like me never lets his ego get the better of him,” Charlie continues to joke.

“He didn’t leave you to butcher the mushrooms while he prepared the rest?” Panda teases him with a smirk, a haphazardly cut mushroom held up on his fork.

“Hey!” Charlie says defensively. He grabs the fork from Panda’s paw and shoves the mushroom in his mouth. “I did my best.”

“That was my mushroom!” Panda yells, tackling the man and attacking him with tickles. Charlie rolls around and squirms, begging for mercy. Panda concedes when he himself is laughing too hard to move. It takes a minute for their laughs to taper off. They lay on the ground, sand in their fur, and catch their breath. Once Charlie is fully calmed down, he rolls on top of Panda and plants soft kisses on his lips.

“I really appreciate the meal,” Panda says, gazing into Charlie’s eyes. “This is all really sweet.”

Charlie’s heart cries out at how tender Panda sounds.

“I hope I did do this justice. You deserve the most special night,” Charlie says, gently rubbing the fur along Panda’s snout with his thumb. Panda is so beautiful like this. Framed by the golden sunset, a permanent blush on his cheeks, an immovable smile gracing his face. He loves him so much. This past year dating him has been the best year of his life. And he has lived a lot of years.

“Are you kidding, I can’t believe you threw all of this together! You made it somehow look even more magical out here than it already looked,” Panda says, caressing Charlie’s face in return. Suddenly, Panda’s face lights up with realization. “Hey, our first date was a picnic here too!”

“Yep!” Charlie says. He would have pointed it out eventually, but he’s glad Panda realized himself. “Wanted to recreate it. New and improved.”

They’ve had dates at the lake before, but not any other official picnics. Picnics with the whole setup are more of a novelty than practicality.

“Oh my gosh, Charlie! That’s even sweeter. You’re such a romantic!” Panda exclaims, pushing Charlie’s head down towards him and giving him a deep kiss.

They finally get up, shake the sand out of their fur the best they can, and finish eating. For dessert, Charlie pulls out two slices of cheesecake decorated with cutesy hearts. This he _had_ largely made himself, the technique not being too difficult. The crust, the more complicated part of a cheesecake, was store bought.

After they eat, they spend some time lazing in the water and playfully splashing one another. It is serene outside. The only noises uttering into the night are the chirps of bugs, the soft lapping of the water, and their gentle giggles.

They dry off with the mound of towels Charlie had the foresight to bring. They have a lot of fur between the two of them. Despite Panda’s scolding throughout the years, Charlie instinctually shakes the water out of his fur. Thankfully, Panda has a towel in his hand he can shield himself with. Charlie continues to insist it’s the most efficient way to dry off. Charlie can tell Panda is starting to find it charming.

As they wait to dry off, they make the most of their time and stargaze. Panda doesn’t know much about the stars, but over the months Charlie has slowly begun to teach him. When you live out in the wilderness for decades, the only thing staying the same throughout your travels being the stars, you learn a lot about them. He’s happy to share his knowledge with the bear and make up bullshit stories about their origins. Panda seems to find them funny.

To end the night, Charlie pulls out his banjo and gently strums and sings some silly love songs for Panda. Panda lays across from Charlie on the blanket and watches him with a blinding smile. Some songs, the ones he knows too, he sings along with. Sometimes Panda sits up and leans over to kiss him right in the middle of a song, making him pause his song for a moment. He doesn’t mind.

Once they have exhausted themselves, they cuddle on the picnic blanket, looking out over the water. The water reflects the almost-full moon, illuminating their surroundings in a soft, cool light. They themselves are bathed in the warm, comfortable light of the string lights and lanterns. It’s a cozy contrast.

Charlie is laying on his back with Panda’s face against his chest. The bear is half asleep. He’ll probably have to carry him back to the cave, which is fine. He can leave the picnic stuff here until morning.

“You ready to head back, Pumpkin?” Charlie asks, rubbing his fingers through the hair on Panda’s head.

“I’ll never be if you keep up with the scratching,” Panda slurs out.

“Alright,” Charlie giggles. “I can’t help it, you’re so soft and cute.”

“Charlie!” Panda says, grumpily lifting his head and giving Charlie an accusatory glare.

“It’s true,” Charlie replies, a satisfied grin on his face.

After a few moments of silence, Panda climbs up to meet Charlie’s face and gives him a chaste kiss.

“I love you, Charlie,” Panda murmurs before he flops back down onto Charlie, this time his head resting on his neck. Charlie continues petting the bear's head.

“I love you too, Pan Pan,” he replies, closing his eyes and basking in the precious moment, the precious night, the precious year. Life with Panda by his side has been so fulfilling.

“Happy anniversary,” Charlie whispers after Panda does not reply for a few moments, though he is pretty sure he has fallen asleep.


End file.
